Dance of Death
by DarkestDawn197
Summary: It's three days before the big dance for the whole town to attend. Rachel notices strange noises around town but decides to shrug them off as attempts at pranks. Will she figure out what those noises are or will it be too late for any chance of survival within the town?
1. Chapter 1

"Rachel! Rachel!" a loud voice sounded in the distance.

I turned around only to be glomped by one of my best friends, Tina.

"So have you found anyone to ask out to the special dance this weekend?" Tina asked hoping to hear a bright 'yes'.

"I haven't, I don't know who I should ask," I said before gloomily looking down at the green grass.

"Aww, c'mon! You don't have anyone in mind?" I could feel her staring down at me with a bit of disappointment. I felt her hand on my chin as she lifted my head up to look in my eyes.

"Why not the blonde haired guy who runs the farm animal shop? Or the prince that just recently came to town, or maybe his butler even?" Tina stared into my eyes and I immediately felt embarrassed.

"There's also the hair stylist or that retired journalist. There's also the guy with goggles that sells pets," Tina backed away so she wasn't as close to my face. I immediately felt better and not as embarrassed as I did when she was close. I wasn't sure why I felt that way.

"I don't know, they all seem like nice guys, but I don't think I feel close to any of them to ask them out. Plus I want to hang out with you and Iroha more than one of those guys. You two are my best friends after all!"

"Damn straight we are!" a laugh came from the orange haired- well orange everything covered girl.

"Don't tell me you've been reading more of that weird stories with that language, haha," I couldn't help but tease the young girl. It's fun to mess with her and to make her feel embarrassed.

Tina began stumbling over her words, "W-what are you talking about? B-baka... Haha, it's hard to keep a straight impersonation with it being this funny. Anyway, I have to get going, the dance is in two days and I have to make sure everything is prepared. See ya later, Rachel!"

With that, she ran off towards the town and that was the last I saw of her. She was always so nice, I bet she's going to help Yuri with the tailoring. With the dance almost here, Yuri must be getting packed with the villager's requests. I should make sure I'm ready for the dance too, but I don't want to bother Yuri with another request. Maybe I could ask Allen, he has a taste for hair fashion, maybe he could help with clothing fashion?

I descended into the town but was soon caught off guard by a weird gurgling noise off in the distance of my farm. I couldn't help but become curious as to what the noise was and decided to follow it. But as soon as I went far enough on the edge of my fields to be any closer to the noise, the gurgling stopped and I couldn't locate where it was. I decided to ignore it and think someone like Toni was trying to play tricks on me again. I didn't want to be fooled again, so I headed back on my mission to ask Allen for advice on what to wear.


	2. Chapter 2

It was about 4:30 in the evening on Wednesday and I managed to find Allen in his salon. He was tidying up and I purposely rang the bell.

 _Ding! Ding! Ding! Di-_ "Please do not annoy me with the consistent ringing of my bell. What do you want?" Allen said in a stern voice as he took away the bell.

I stared into his blue eyes and bluntly stated my request, "Can you help me figure out a pattern or color or design for a dress so I could wear it to the dance this Friday? I do not want to bother Yuri since she already has a lot of requests from the other villagers as is. So I wanted to ask you for help."

He raised his eyebrow at me, "You want _my_ help? That's a first, you never really talked to me much before. Why should I help you?" The words somehow stung worse than what I imagined when talking to him.

"Well... I-" I began to speak but was cut off by Allen's finger covering my mouth in a 'shush' motion.

"Haha, I'll help you. I don't want you to make the mistake of asking someone that isn't me or Yuri since we both have impeccable fashion tastes," I felt my face burn a bit from how close Allen is to me, and backed away a bit.

"What a cutie, I'd ask you out if I didn't have my eye on Yuri-" Allen covered his mouth realizing what he just said.

I looked at him with a devilish smile, "So you like Yuri then... Maybe I could use this information to my advantage."

I looked at Allen as I said that and his face was priceless. He looked terrified of that information leaking out.

"Haha, I'm kidding, I take it you haven't asked her out to the dance yet?"

Allen's face flushed a light red as he shook his head.

"Well, how about as repayment for you helping with my dress issue, I'll get you two to go to the dance together?" I asked with a genuine smile written on my face.

I saw Allen's expression turn from embarrassed to sad, "Is everything okay? Do you not like that idea?"

Allen took in and let out a deep sigh, "The basic gist is that Yuri is mad at me for saying she doesn't have as much taste in fashion as I do, and we haven't talked since then."

I put my hand on Allen's shoulder as a form of comfort, "Don't worry, I can help you guys make up in time for the dance!"

"You really think you can..?" I saw the stylist's face light up a bit, "Well, if you say you can, then I'll keep my end of the bargain and help you with getting the perfect dress for the dance. Speaking of which, have you decided to ask out anyone?"

I shook my head no and he looked disappointed at me, the same look as Tina had given me earlier.

"Well that's no good, anyone you have in mind?" Allen asked as he reached from behind the counter and pulled out a book of fabric with many samples of colors of cloths and began looking at them against my skin tone.

I watched him carefully eye out each color and fabric type. There were a lot that ranged from pink, to blue, to green and to others in terms of colors. There were only a handful of fabrics I recognized such as fur, silk, and cotton, "I don't have anyone in mind, I may just go to the dance with my friends, Tina and Iroha."

Allen nodded a look of approval at what I said, "It's better to go with friends rather than just go by yourself, as long as you have a good time, then that should matter."

I began to open my mouth before he picked up a blue colored fabric and interrupted me, "This blue silk should work perfect with your skin tone. I believe this as a few layers for a dress that also has ruffles in it would look fabulous on you! Of course not as fabulous as me or Yuri when we go, but still pretty good looking."

I observed the fabric in comparison to my skin tone and thought it would look good as well, "I like this fabric, do you have any spares of the fabric that I can make the dress out of?"

Allen shook his head, "I'm afraid not, Yuri should have some, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you made the dress there either. It's almost 5, so she should still be working."

Allen handed me the fabric and nudged me out the door, "I have other business matters to attend to, so I must see you out."

I nodded my head and said, "Thank you for the help, I'll let you know as soon as I can about you and Yuri," I smiled and waved to him goodbye and I headed down the street to the tailor shop.

I again heard another gurgling noise, but decided to ignore it. I think Toni is just trying to get a scare out of me. I headed into the shop to greet Yuri.


	3. Chapter 3

After heading into the shop, I saw two figures standing in front of the counter. I could easily recognize that they were Rod and Neil. I wonder if they came in for outfits for the dance.

"Good evening everyone," I said suddenly, which seemed to surprise both of the the men. I giggled at their reaction, and Neil looked a bit mad and Rod didn't seem too happy with me either.

"That wasn't very nice, scaring us like that," Neil stated.

Rod could only nod his head, I feel really bad for making them feel that way.

"I'm really sorry for scaring you guys, I didn't mean to-"

"BOO!" Neil and Rod suddenly said that as I was talking and it scared me.

I fell back and landed on my butt and could only hear the two laughing a lot from scaring me as payback. They both reached out their hands to help me up and I took their hands. They both hugged me as they helped me up.

"I'm sorry, that was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up," Rod said with a chuckle in his voice.

Neil nodded, "I agree."

"Well we have to get going now, see you around, Rachel!" Rod said as he and Neil headed out of the shop.

I waved goodbye to the two men and and walked to the counter that Yuri was behind, "Hey Yuri, how are you?"

"Hi... I'm good, just a little tired from making the outfits for people... How are you?" Yuri said softly. She clearly looked tired exhausted.

"I'm pretty good, I'm going to make myself a dress and I was told by Allen that you had material that I could buy," I showed her the cloth and she examined the fabric carefully.

Her face seemed to be a bit disgruntled at my mentioning of Allen, "I should have some of this fabric in the back, how much do you need?"

"Allen said this would look well on me if it were layered with ruffles, I'm not too sure how many layers, but enough for there to be ruffles," I smiled warmly at her as I explained the design.

"I'll be right back," Yuri said as she left to the back room and went to grab fabric. She looked a bit sad at my mention of Allen, I hope the two aren't on super bad terms.

About five minutes have passed and Yuri was still not back. I was getting worried, "Yuri? You okay back there?"

I didn't get a response and decided to head back there myself. I saw Yuri on the floor with her hands covering her face as soft sobs sounded from her body. I rushed quickly to her side, "Yuri, Yuri, are you okay?"

She looked like she could only manage to shake her head no and wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder.

I hugged her small looking body, "It's going to be okay, want to talk about it?"

Yuri managed to talk a little bit about her problem. She seemed like she was upset about her situation with Allen.

"You know, Allen was a bit upset at you two not talking to each other," I said to Yuri.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, "Really?.. I thought he didn't want to talk to me..."

"No, no, no. That's far from the case. He really wants to talk to you and he wants to go to the dance with you," her face brightened up at my words I said to her.

"Is that so..." She looked down at her lap and then back up at me, "You aren't joking with me, are you?"

I shook my head at her and she seemed to brighten up, "I'm really happy you told me this... Hey, thank you for cheering me up... Let me work on the dress for you."

I was taken aback by her words, "No, you don't have to, I was going to make the dress myself."

"Do you know how to make a dress though?" Her question caught me off guard, I imagined it would be easy to make one, but now that I'm thinking, I don't think I could make a dress half as good as the ones Yuri makes. I shook my head no at her and felt a bit embarrassed at what I was thinking.

Yuri placed her hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry about the dress... I'll handle it. But in return... Can you ask Allen to come by the shop later this evening? That way I can work on your dress in the meantime."

I stood up and lent my hand to Yuri, in which she took and I helped her up, "Sure, I'll do that for you. Are you sure you want to make the dress for me?"

She started walking back to the front, "Of course... I'm very good at this, so it would be a piece of cake."

I followed in behind her and stood on the opposite side of the counter facing her, "Thank you so much. I'll head on out to tell Allen of your request." I started heading out when Yuri said, "Come by the shop later tomorrow and I'll have the dress done by then..."

I nodded my head and waved goodbye as I left the shop. Back to the salon I went when I heard a more horrendous sound compared to earlier. I turned to look around, but couldn't see anything. I thought this prank from Toni was getting a bit much, but it was too late for me to be worried about it.

I headed to the salon and met up with Allen. After telling him of Yuri's request, his face lit up with excitement. He asked me to leave shortly after so he could go meet up with Yuri and I decided it was getting a bit too late anyway.

After saying goodbye, I decided to head home. It was quite dark outside and I only had the streetlamps to guide me back to my house.

Off in the distance I saw a small figure, it looked a bit like Toni, but it was hunched over and walking slowly towards the forest. I was too scared to move out of fear of what it could have been. It felt like hours have passed. I didn't get out of my trance until a tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality.

"Rachel? Are you okay?" I saw a taller man staring at me. It was Amir, he looked very concerned.

"I saw a weird figure over there," and pointed where I saw the figure, "and I felt really scared and felt like I couldn't move," I felt like it would be in my best interest to tell Amir.

Amir looked around but looked disappointed, he must not have found anything, "I didn't see anything. But you've been standing here looking at that spot for at least 30 minutes. I walked by to head to Dunhill's house and when I left, you were still standing there. You look extremely pale, do you want me to walk you back home?"

I didn't know what to say, I felt a bit scared that the figure wasn't around here. "Hey, maybe Toni is trying to play a prank on you," Amir suggested. That could be very possible.

"That may be true, but I don't know why I felt really scared," I looked towards the ground, trying to think of any possible reasons why I felt that way.

I suddenly felt embraced by a hug and looked up at Amir. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," Amir said in a soothing voice.

I hugged him back and he let go, "Shall we get going now?"

I shook my head and he led the way. I followed close behind him and in no time, we were at my house.

"Thank you for leading me back home, I was really scared back there," I said to Amir.

He smiled, "Not a problem. It's a nice night outside anyway. I heard you haven't asked anyone out to the dance," he looked away a bit as he said this. "Would you be interested in going with me?"

I was surprised. I didn't expect him to ask me of all people to go to the dance with him, "U-Um..." I felt my face flush with red as I began speaking, "I'll go with you to the dance."

His face lit up and smiled widely. He gave me a hug all of a sudden, "That is fantastic news. Would you like to meet up later tomorrow to discuss plans for the dance the following day?"

"Sure, that would be nice," we ended up talking for a little bit about the plans. I didn't feel exactly right though going with him. Maybe it would be fun though.

We hugged and then waved goodbye as I went inside my house. It was a bit late and I had a big day ahead of me tomorrow. I decided to sleep early tonight after making some meals for the next few days.

Before going to sleep, I decided to look outside my window, it was raining all of a sudden. Loud thunder and lightning sounded in my ears. I hope it won't continue raining tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_ I was being awoken to loud knocks at the door. Before I could register what was happening, Sanjay had burst through the door. I found it odd and quite concerning for him to barge in.

"Mm... What's wrong?" I ask whilst letting out a yawn. I look over to the clock and it hasn't even hit 5am. Just barely past 4:56am.

I was rubbing my eyes when Sanjay grabbed my hand and decided to lead me to the door, "I'll explain on the way, but it's really important that you must come."

I was exhausted but alert to what the tall man said, "All right, I'll grab my shoes on," Sanjay let go of my hand for me to put my shoes on.

After grabbing my shoes on, Sanjay retook my hand and started running. I almost lost my footing at first, but I ran with him, "Where are we going?"

Sanjay looked back and I could see a tear forming in his eye, "The clinic."

"Why there? What's happened? What's going on?" I questioned the distressed butler as we ran. No response.

I decided to drop it until we arrived at the clinic after about a couple minutes walk.

We head inside and to the beds where a severely wounded Amir and Dunhill lay. I rushed to Amir's side where he lay there, sleeping. Bloodied bandages cover his arms and stomach.

I look to Sanjay and then to Dunhill when I got no response from the butler. Dunhill wasn't in bad of condition. His arm was bandaged but it didn't look like he was still bleeding. I noticed he was sleeping as well.

Klaus clears his throat which startles Sanjay and me. We immediately turn around and see a Klaus out of his uniform for once. He must have had blood on his other clothes while patching up the two men.

"There's no need to worry, they're just sleeping right now. I have yet to find out what happened with these two as when they came in, they immediately passed out. I cleaned their wounds though, so they should get to healing better soon. I think it's best to let them rest while they can," Klaus said without skipping a beat. Although his words seemed cold, I picked up on a hint of sadness.

"But I must stay by-" Sanjay began speaking when I placed my hand on his shoulder, cutting him off. He looked to me, this time tears streaming down his face. I understood his pain and what he wants, but we can't just stay there and disrupt their sleep.

"Sanjay..." I began, "I think we should come back later today. We should let them rest after whatever happened to them."

Sanjay looked taken aback. I suppose he thought I was going to try to argue to stay there with them. He nodded his head in sorrow and we took our leave.

"Do you want me to walk you back to the mansion?" I asked Sanjay.

"Actually, could you stay with me? I don't know if I would be fine by myself," Sanjay said, sniffling and wiping a tear from his eye.

I nodded my head and headed towards the mansion. Once arriving there, Sanjay led me to the bedroom in which he slept at. He brought out another blanket and pillow and laid them on the floor.

"Here, you take the bed, I can take the floor," Sanjay said motioning me to the bed.

I looked back to him, "Are you sure? I can sleep on the floor if anything."

He looked at me and I knew by his tired expression that he didn't want to argue about this. I thus laid down on the bed which was softer than what I had imagined.

I turned to Sanjay, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, I'll see Amir around lunchtime later today to check on him. I can keep tabs on him for you and let you know if anything changes," Sanjay suggested.

I took that into consideration, "That would be awesome, thank you."

With that, I soon fell asleep to the still thundering and lightning sky.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up to being lightly shaken. I open my eyes and see Sanjay and momentarily freaked out. I half forgotten I fell asleep in the mansion.

"Sorry for startling you, I made breakfast since you stayed with me," he said with a sad smile.

I sit up and look outside the window. The rain had slowed down, but was still pouring. I don't hear thunder or lightning, "Was it supposed to rain today?" I ask Sanjay.

"I don't recall rain being in the forecast. Odd as it may be," Sanjay replied to me.

I stand up and follow Sanjay to the dining table where an omelet with bacon and waffles lay on the table. Next to them laid an apple and a glass of milk. I was in awe at the sight and smell of the prepared food. However I noticed that it wasn't a table set for two.

"Is this food for me? Where's you're food?" I asked Sanjay.

He looked at me, "I had a light breakfast. I wasn't feeling incredibly hungry. Would you like company while you eat?" he asked with a sad expression. I can tell he's still incredibly hurt.

"Yeah, I'd like the company. What all did you eat?" I asked while taking a sip of the milk.

"I had some toast with herb jam and an apple with a glass of milk," he said as he poured himself another glass of milk.

I began eating the omelet, "Wow, this is really delicious," I complimented the butler.

"Thank you," he spoke as he sat down across from me. "Do you think I should bring something for Amir when I go visit?"

I pondered in thought, "That might be a good thing, what's his favorite thing of all time?"

"That's easy, it's stew," Sanjay immediately spoke, "We always kept a pre-made stew for whenever Amir decided he wanted it."

"Then you should bring him that," I responded as I saw his face light up, "Thinking of how happy Amir will be when he gets his stew?"

Sanjay nodded with a smile on his face, it was a peaceful smile. Not so much pain behind it now either.

I finished my breakfast and soon left the mansion after seeing Sanjay off. It was midday Thursday, the day before the huge ball. I'm honestly really excited and wanted to get my dress as soon as I can. I went over to Yuri's shop and entered through the front door and greeted Yuri and Allen. It seems they were getting along from what I could see.

"Hey guys," I said to the two by the counter.

"Why hello there," Allen responded.

"Yes...Hello, how are you?" Yuri asked.

A wave of shock went over me as I remember what happened to Amir and Dunhill. My sadness must have shown to Yuri and Allen because I saw looks of concerns on their faces.

"Are you okay there?" Allen asked as I felt his hand on my forehead, "You aren't getting sick now, are you?"

I stepped back, "No, no. I'm fine, it's just..." I trailed off.

"It's what...?" Yuri asked, with a more concerned but curious expression on her face.

I held my head down and felt a tear flow down my cheek. I soon felt embraced by the hugs of Yuri and Allen.

"It's okay, you can tell us," Allen said in a cooing tone.

I hugged them back and looked at them, "Amir and Dunhill are at the clinic. They've been injured badly but I'm not sure what happened. I'm just really concerned for them.

"Well let's go visit them," Allen suggested.

"Yes, it would be nice for them to have company," Yuri added.

I thought about it, "This isn't going to interfere with your plans for the day?" I questioned them.

"If it were going to, I wouldn't have suggested it, now would I?" Allen said in a snarky response.

I was caught off guard, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Yuri nodded in agreement, "Let's go then."

"Oh yeah, Yuri? I came by because I wanted to check on the dress," I turned towards the young girl.

"Ah, yes. I have it almost complete. I just need to add a few more details and make a few more adjustments and I'll be done. It would take no longer than an hour," the fashion designer replied. "I'd like to show you when it's complete a little bit after we get back."

"All right, thank you so much!" I gave Yuri a quick, tight hug.

"Let's head out now, shall we?" Allen asked.

With that, we turned to leave the store to head to the clinic. I was walking in front, followed by Allen and then Yuri. When we got outside, we heard a voice from the distance.

"Rachel! Look out!" I turned my head to the direction of the voice, but it was too late. I was tackled to the ground and knocked out cold.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! I'm sorry for this extremely long wait. Stuff has been busy for me with like getting a new job and the like. I should be updating more regularly, so enjoy!

* * *

I look up to rain drops on my face and a familiar figure standing over me. It was Tina. I rubbed my eyes as a headache rushes over me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to knock you out," Tina said apologetically. I sat up and looked to her while replying, "Please make sure to be more considerate next time."

Tina saluted me and proclaimed, "Aye sir! You have my word." I couldn't help but giggle at her silliness. She reached her hand out and helped me off the ground.

As I got up, I looked out and saw Iroha behind her talking with Allen and Yuri. Iroha looked over and her face lit up and rushed to hug me.

"Oh Rachael, I heard what happened from Allen and Yuri. We should hurry to the clinic to visit Sanjay and the injured," Iroha stated.

I nodded in agreement and as did the rest of our group. We all headed to the clinic and saw Sanjay standing outside. I looked to him, confused.

He took notice of us and waved with a smile. As we approached I asked, "How come you aren't inside?"

He replied with, "I'm unsure. Klaus told me I wasn't allowed inside for the moment. I think he mentioned some tests. He wouldn't tell me much though."

I looked a bit upset. I was really hoping to visit Amir today. I looked to our group, "Well I suppose we will have to come by tomorrow to make sure everything is-"

I was interrupted by the clinic door opening and inside the doorway stood Amir. He had some blood splashed on his face and clothes and wore a terrified expression.

Sanjay looked to him and hugged him tightly whilst ignoring the blood. Amir expressed his pain from the hug and Sanjay released his grip.

"Oh my prince, I was so worried," said the butler. "Should you really be standing? You look in bad shape."

Amir looked up to him and said, "I shouldn't but when I woke up and saw Klaus with a big needle, I just couldn't stay there."

Klaus appeared behind Amir and sternly said, "Amir, you need to rest. With injuries like those, you won't be able to function well."

Sanjay agreed with the doctor and went with him and Amir inside. "I think we should be okay. Thank you friends for coming and being concerned with Prince Amir," Sanjay said as he left inside with the two.

I waved goodbye and looked to my group of friends. "What shall we do now?" I asked.

"Well... I could head back to the shop to work on your dress," Yuri suggested and looked to Allen. He seemed to nod and followed her back to her shop. They waved goodbye and was soon out of Tina, Iroha, and my sights.

I looked to the two girls and they looked at each other. Tina was the first to speak, "I still have a little bit of decorating for the dance left. Wanna join me, Iroha?"

Iroha nodded and went with her over to the building where the dance was held. I waved goodbye to them and went on my way.

I looked over to Rebecca and Toni's house and saw that it was quiet and empty. I wondered why Rebecca isn't there right now since it's around lunch time. She's probably out and about somewhere, getting ready for the dance. I didn't think too hard about it and went on my way.

Pushing the thought to the back of my head, I decided to go exploring the mountain where the harvest goddess resides. I could give her a strawberry and enjoy the scenery while I wait to head back to Yuri's shop for my dress.

Heading up the mountain along the trail, was very... **_quiet_**. I know that it's normally quiet here, but I haven't even heard the chirps of the native birds yet. I haven't seen any of the wooded animals here yet as well.

This can't be good, so I hurried my way up to the pond to speak with the harvest goddess. Upon running up there, I ended up slipping on something. I tried to catch my fall but ended up hitting my head on a rock. I was in a daze and was having trouble seeing. I saw a figure approach me but I couldn't make my eyes adjust to see who the figure was. Before I knew it, black spots clouded my vision and my consciousness slowly faded away.


End file.
